DiMarzio Area T Tele Noiseless Pickups

See Site, no need to repeat here. Noise;ess humbuckers.

2002 MIM fender Tele. Both bridge and neck.

Average output . Used in Tweed Deluxe and Vox Valvetronic. The pickups are very well balanced (do not put too high!) with perfect string definition. No artifacts being noiseless both clean and distorted. They sound very well behaved and do not have the compression that SD vintage stack would, but that is actually a negative with country as the SD vintage stack bridge is the standard. I am using the pickups for blues so they are fine. Overall, I will keep them, but I equate their sound with flat soda. Something is missing but I can't pin it down. American Std tele pickups to me actually sounds better as they are punchy rather than sensitive to touch. The neck absolutely does not sound Strat-like as in another review. My GHS Fatboy set the standard in that regard. I think as a change in pots is in order as per recommendation by Dimarzio. The pickups for rhythm are unbelievable! Beautiful sounding.

They sound good in a Tweed Deluxe because they do not color the sound much, so the Tweed Deluxe can handle the tone.

I would not buy again but try something else. Maybe they will grow on me. I have been playing 30 years. Right now am a so-so, not thrilled, no overall wow factor. The sample on the site is more a sample of the guys other equipment (and his chops) than the pickup. Now here is what pissed me off. For the bridge, there were only 2 screws. For the neck which is almost 2X as deep they gave longer screws but two normal size springs. If you don't mind a completely loose pickup that is fine. I used my tubing and the springs. Both pickups came with instructions that were not for this exact pickup. The boxes were factory sealed. This is not rocket science - mounting parts, instructions. I was also surprised of the thin unshielded hookup wire - I guess it works but I never seen such cheap wire. I have had Fender, Gibson, Wilder, GHS, and Seymour Duncan and this was cheapest I have seen. Like I said, maybe it does not matter and there is some reason but it did not impress me. I HAVE TO CLOSE IN SAYING DIMARZIO DOES GIVE 30 DAYS TO EXCHANGE THEM AND I LIVE 5 MILES FROM THEM SO I COULD EXChANGE THEM EASILY.

I'd likely try a GHS pickup, or a Wilder (from Bill & Becky). To be honest here, if Bill and Becky's site for their pickups were not so screwed up and had some real descriptions and samples I would have bought theirs from the start I just didn't have the patience to deal with the whole routine with them. I have their Strat pickups which are great..

Area T bridge and neck pickups. Single coil size that fits perfectley. Just slightly taller due to them being a stacked humbucker. Passive. Specs are on DiMarzio's site.

Guitar: 2000 MIA Tele that I bought used in 2002. (Looked brand new). All maple neck, not sure of the body wood due to the chrome red paint!

Positions: Neck and bridge.

Pickups being replaced: Guitar came with Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders. Took those out and tried Lindy Fralins Blues Specials.

Reason for change: To get the Tele sounding more the way I wanted it to. The mentioned pickups just weren't doing it for me. First off, the 60 cycle hum on these sets was terrible and the high end from both pickups from both sets had absolutley no punch what so ever. It was so thin that the sound just seemed to disappear. Clarity, yes, but no "umph." It's not that I wanted my Tele to sound like an LP but c'mon, give me just a bit of muscle here! I was always told that Strat's and Tele's are guitars that you really have to dig into to get the most out of, but this was ridiculous. I was really beginning to wonder if I had a very thin sounding guitar, or that maybe the fault lay with me in that I just didn't know how to get a good sound from a Tele. I always liked the Tele vibe but due to frustration I was just about ready to sell this guitar when I thought I'd give the Area T set a shot. I'm SO glad that I did!!

Output level: I guess I'd call the output medium. Not wimpy but not hot either.

Amps: Tried them thru a variety. Marshall DSL 50 into a 4X12 with only two speakers hooked up... a Greenback and a Weber Blue Dog. A Peavey Classic 30 with a Vintage 30 speaker and a stock Fender DRRI.

Of the amps I've tried it thru I like it best thru either the Peavey or the Marshall. Although both amps are very differant the Area T's sound absolutley stellar!! Both pickups are very well balanced and both pickups have that little bit of punch on the high end that I was looking for. It sounds all Tele but with just a little bit of muscle on the high end that doesn't take away from the Tele vibe. I also love how perfectley these pickups blend. When you go from the bridge to the neck it doesn't sound like you're going from A to Z which is how those other sets sounded.

So what do they sound like? Well, I find it very hard to describe a tone, but I'll tell you (in my very humble opinion) what they sound good on. Using the bridge pickup clean I get very good sounds for things by the Doors, the Beatles, the Who...things like that. Add a bit of compression and you can handle songs by the Police, INXS and even something like "Can't Stop Loving You" by Van Halen.

A clean tone using both pickups combined gets me right into the Stray Cat's neighborhood. "Rock This Town" and "Stray Cat Strut" are no problem.

The neck pickup clean get's you into Jimi's world with ease. "Hey Joe" and "Little Wing"...oh God, but does it get those sounds! Slapping on a bit of compression for the neck pickups REALLY get's those sounds even closer.

Am I saying that it nails all those tones 100%? No, I'm not. But because of these pickups being so well balanced within themselves, because of the Alnico 2 magnets and because of that extra bit of punch on the high end that I mentioned, the tones that I do give me the results that I wanted and with ease. Would they work for country? I'm not a coutry picker at all, but strickley going by recordings of various country artists....offhand I really don't see why not. I mean, I can hear the "vintage" in these pickups (oh yeah, they do "twang" if you want them too) but again, they got that little bit of extra punch on top.

As far as overdriven tones are concerned I really only use overdrive/distortion with the bridge pickup. A lot depends on the amp, the player and what pedals (if any) that are used. As far as a very light crunch is concerned I can get a great tone going using a ZVEX Bock of Rock with the gain set low that easily works for an AC/DC and Sivertide type of rhythm sounds. As far as something heavier like Van Halen or Led Zeppelin I find these pickups work best thru a box that offers a ton of flexability and a lot of variation to work with. I'm getting some good tones using either the Tonebone Hot British pedal or the Tonebone Classic pedal. LOT'S of variation within those pedals and it really didn't take me long to find something that works. I tried using pedals that just have the Volume, Tone and Gain knobs and had a lot of trouble getting the effect I wanted for heavier things. I'm not saying that it can't be done with these pcikups, I'm just saying that I couldn't do it.

Again, am I saying that what I use with these pickups absolutley nails tones by the mentioned artist's? No, I'm not. I don't ever try to copy anyones sound but I do try to find something that will serve some tonal justice to the song being played.

For clean and overdriven tones using MY guitar in MY hands thru MY gear....the Area T pickups are the answer to my prayers. They've truly turned my Tele into a guitar that I almost sold into what has probably become my most versatile guitar. And for that it gets a 10.

Oh yeah.....NO 60 CYCLE HUM!!!!!! DEAD QUIET!!!!!!

If for whatever reason they quit working (HIHGLY unlikely) I would most definatley replace them. If my guitar was stolen I'd buy another Tele and would get another set of the Area T's. As mentioned, I almost sold my Tele but since installing the Area T set in my guitar about a month ago this guitar has been played more in a month than in the past year and that's the truth! I am nothing but happy with these pickups and to the good folks at DiMarzio who designed and who build them you've got every reason to be proud of these. The search is truly over because my Tele now sounds the way I've always wanted it too. Now if I can get my Strat sounding as good as my Tele I'll be pretty much set. Area '61 and '58's maybe? We'll see.

Oh yeah, these pickups are VERY sensative the height adjustments. It really doesn't take much of a turn on the screws for either pickup to hear a differance.

Because the search is over I'm giving the Area T set a 10.

Stacked humbucker design. Look exactly like Tele pickups

I put these in my Tokai Tele. Replaced the Nocaster Fender pickups. I loved the tone of the Nocasters but hated the noise. Playing in bars you never really know what to expect for house wiring. I was reluctant to try yet another noiseless pickup but really wanted to start using the Tele again in a band environment.

These pickups are sensitive to height adjustments. Once dialed in they're very, very good. A quarter turn of the adjustment screws take them from 60's type tones to Broadcaster tones. Without the typical noise of a Tele pickup you'll be amazed how much more tone you'll have with these pickups. The treble pickup can go from Don Rich/Buck Owens type sound to Jeff Beck or Jimmy Page just adding more gain. With both pickups on, spanky, you can easily get the in your face rhythm sounds that cut thru most mixes easily. The front pick up can go from Wind Cries Mary to Jazz tones with no problem. Output is probably the same as my old Nocasters. Definitely NOT for metal. They easily provide enough output to hammer the front end of your amp though. String pull isn't bad either. You can jack these up for more output if you like. I don't get paid to say these things but I'm blown away with how DiMarzio was able to capture the Tele tones and do away with the noise! That being said...they're a solid 9 as nothing is a 10.

I've tried Bardens, EMG's, Bill Lawrence, Seymour Duncan etc. While they were able to do away with the noise, they also did away the very thing I wanted to keep....the Tele Tones! I've been playing for over 40 years and I believe these pickups are keepers.